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New Guard (Australia)
Background The New Guard was formed in early 1931 In Sydney, New South Wales by retired WW1 Australian army colonel Eric Campbell. It was originally composed mostly of ex-servicemen who had become disenchanted with the overly secretive nature of a previous similar organisation, The Old Guard. The organisation presented itself as patriotic and opposed to left wing political groups. It went over time from militant ultra-conservative to proto-fascistic leaning. It peaked in our timeline in 1932 with the Lang crisis and then continuously lost membership until the begining of WW2 where it ceased to exist. Symbols The new guard used both the Union Jack and the Australian national flag at its rallies and do not appear to have had a flag of its own. Its badge was shield shape with the Union Jack and Australian national flag in chief, a sword pointing downward, the Words "The New Guard" overall and a scroll with the motto "For God, King and Country" underneath the shield. The version below is from a pamphlet published by them. The badge does not appear to have been worn as a lapel pin. Components General Council The central council controling the New Guard. Composed of all zone commanders, divisional Commander & department heads Executive Council charge with clerical business. Composed of all department head Council of Actions Has the power to vote on mobilising members of the New Guard. Composed of all Zone and Divisional Commanders. HQ Vigilance Committee Charged with collating reports from Locality Vigilance Committees about local acts of sedition and political corruption which were meant to then be passed on to the authorities. Mobile Brigade made of all "A" & "B" class member of the zones' divisions divided into 4 mobile battalions each divided into 4 mobile companies Air New Guard A planned air units command. Doesn't appear to have developed beyond the planning stage altough a number of Air New Guard Director were apointed who sat on the General Council. The Air New Guard was to be divided into a number of squadrons. Some comments made would seem to indicate that it would be composed of recreational pilots. Harbour Guard A planned unit to be organised along the lines of the Royal Marines. Was meant to operate at Port Jackson and on inland waterways. The Harbour Guard Commander and deputy were to sit on the Council of Action. The Harbour Guard was to be divided into a number of squadrons. Sea New Guard A planed naval unit meant to operate under the direction of the Harbour Guard. Fascist Legion dedicated to internal security and punishing disloyalty. members wore black robes and hoods to hide their identity, even from one another. All members took on the name of a playing card ("Ten of Spade", "Queen of Heart") and where lead by someone refered to as "The Joker". The fascist legion didn't seem to exist on an official level within the organisation and may have been solely an ad hoc faction within the New Guard. Membership classes *A class: able and willing to operate anywhere and in any capacity. defined either as "shock troops", "mobile" or "military". Divided into battalion, company, platoon & section *B class: members able and willing to operate in a technical capacity (mecahnics, drivers, electricians, etc....) ("technical and essential troops") *C class: only able to assist within their own locality. Refered to as "civil" or "local defence troops". Divided into battalion, company, platoon & section Geographical Organisation *Commands: Divided into a number of Zones *Zones: headed by a Zone Commander elected by the Divisional Commanders within his zone. *Divisions: headed by a Divisional Commander elected by the Locality Commanders within his division. *Localities: Headed by Locality Commander elected in by local members. A locality could be composed of a hundred members or more. *Blocks: the block was a purely administrative subdivision of the localities and was meant to represent a city block or equivalent. In the following list, names followed by a " * " represent subdivisions mentioned in early documents but not confimed to have actually existed. They may have been planed but never managed to recruit a sufficient number of local members. Metropolitan Command - The City Locality (Syndey CBD): treated as a locality but not part of any zone. A Zone: Sydney, North of the Harbour A1 Division: - Manly Locality - Collaroy Locality - Narrabeen Locality * A2 Division: '' - Mosman Locality - Cremorne Locality - North Sydney Locality - Greenwich Locality - Crows' Nest Locality * ''A3 Division: - Epping Locality - Gladesville Locality - Ryde Locality - Hunter's Hill Locality - Eastwood Locality * A4 Division: '' - Artamon Locality - Willoughby Locality - Chatswood Locality - Roseville Locality - Lindfield Locality - Killara Locality - Lane Cove Locality - Northbridge Locality - Wahroonga Locality * ''A5 Division: - Balgowlah Locality - Seaforth Locality - Brookvale Locality - French's Forest Locality A6 Division: '' - Turramurra Locality - Gordon-Pymble Locality - Hornsby Locality '''B Zone: Sydney, Eastern Suburbs & Coastline down to Maroubra / south of harbour to botany bay' B1 Division: '' - Darlinghurst Locality - Paddington Locality - Darling Point Locality * - Double Bay Locality * ''B2 Division: - Rose Bay Locality - Bellevue Hill Locality - Waverley Locality - Bondi Locality - Bronte Locality * B3 Division: '' - Randwick Locality - Botany Locality - Mascot Locality - Maroubra Locality - Clovelly Locality - Coogee Locality - Kensington Locality '''C Zone: Sydney, Southern Suburbs down to and including the Sutherland Shire / south and south-western suburbs from botany bay' C1 Division: '' - Bankstown Locality - Campsie Locality - Lakemba Locality - Canterbury Locality ''C2 Division: '' - Rookdale Locality - Arncliffe Locality - Kogarah Locality ''C3 Division: '' - Penshurst Locality - Miranda Locality - Cronulla Locality * - Sutherland Locality * - Hurstville Locality * ''C4 Division: '' - Marrickville Locality - St. Peters Locality - Earlwood Locality - Stanmore Locality - Enmore Locality * '''D Zone: Sydney, Western Suburbs up to Parramatta ' D1 Division: '' - Ashfield Locality - Haberfield Locality - Drumoyne Locality - Five Docks Locality - Leichhardt Locality * ''D2 Division: '' - Burwood Locality - Strathfield Locality - Homebush Locality - Auburn-Lidcombe Locality - Enfield-Croydon Locality - Parramatta Locality ''D3 Division: '' - Concord West Locality - Concord Central Locality - Rhodes Locality - North Strathfield Locality '''E Zone *' F Zone * Country Command (outside Greater Sydney) W Zone * X Zone * Y Zone * Z Zone * Ranks Officer Grade 1 - chief commander Officer Grade 2 - Deputy chief commander - Department Head - Commander of harbour guard - Commander of air new guard - Commander of Mobile Brigade - Zone Commanders Officer Grade 3 - 2nd Commander of harbour guard - 2nd Commander of air new guard - 2nd Mobile Brigade Commander - mobile brigade chief of brigade staff - mobile brigade quartermaster - mobile brigade transport officer - inspector general Mobile brigade - inspector general civil units - Mobile Battalion Commander Officer Grade 4 - Mobile 2nd Battalion Commander - Mobile Battalion Staff Officer - Mobile Battalion Director - Mobile Battalion Signal Officer - Mobile Battalion Quartermaster - Mobile Company Commander - division commander Officer Grade 5 - Mobile 2nd Company Commander - 2nd division commander - Division Transport Officer - Division Quartermaster - Division Administrator - locality commander Officer Grade 6 - 2nd locality commander - locality administrator - Mobile Platoon Commander Officer Grade 7 - locality company commander - locality platoon commander Sub Officer Grade 1 - Regimental sgt major (battalion level) - Quartermaster sgt major (battalion level) - Platoon Serjeant (company level) Sub Officer Grade 2 - Section Commander Note: other members of staff were treated as 1 grade lower than commander of related unit or 2 grade if a deputy commander position exists Uniforms & Insignias - In "Badge, Boot, Button: The Story of Australian Uniforms", By Craig Wilcox, the author mentions in passing that the New Guard had discussed wearing clue shirts as part of their uniforms though there is no evidence that it was ever adopted. The author seems to imply that the blue shirts in question would have been the type worn by diggers at galipoli which were of a pale greyish blue. - In "Nazi Dreamtime: Australian Enthusiasts for Hitler’s Germany", By David Bird, the author gives the uniform of the New Guard in late 1933 as a plain white shirt with a purple armband. This armband is more than likely the one prescribed for members of the mobile brigades rather than one used by all members. All members when on active duty were meant to wear the appropriate armbands on each arms midway between the elbow and shoulder. Left Armband Background Colour - Chief Headquarter: scarlet - 1st mobile brigade (metropolitan): khaki - Harbour Guard: Saxon Blue and sky blue - Air New Guard: marked in organisational papers as "to be determined" - Country command: marked in organisational papers as "to be determined" - "C" class troops: green Right Armband Background Colour - mobile brigade: purple - territorial mobile brigade reserve: khaki - "C" class troops: white Zone identification A one inch by four inches coloured strip sewn horizontally on the center of the right armband - zone "A": saxon blue - zone "B": light brown - zone "C": dark maroon - zone "D": orange - zone "E": white - zone "F": green Battalion identification A one inch metal emblem sewn onto the center of the zone identification strip - 1st marine: number "1" with letter "M" above - 2nd mobile: number "2" with letter "M" above - 3rd mobile: number "3" with letter "M" above - 4th mobile: number "4" with letter "M" above - territorial battalions same number as mobile battalion they are attached to but with the letter "T" replacing the letter "M" - "C" class troops: same letter-number combination as the zone they come from (A1, B3, etc...) Grade identification vertical strips sewn over the zone identification strip evenly - Officer 1st grade: 4 scarlet strips - Officer 2nd grade: 3 scarlet strips - Officer 3rd grade: 2 scarlet strips - Officer 4th grade: 1 scarlet strip - Officer 5th grade: 4 saxon blue strips - Officer 6th grade: 3 saxon blue strips - Officer 7th grade: 2 saxon blue strips - Sub-Officer 1st grade: 4 orange strips - Sub-Officer 2nd grade: 3 orange strips - Sub-Officer 3rd grade: 2 orange strips - Sub-Officer 4th grade: 1 orange strip As an example, the armband shown to the right would represent the rank of an Officer 6th grade (3 blue lines) part of a territorial battalion (khaki background) of Zone D (orange stripe) Category:Australia Category:Political party Category:Paramilitary Category:New South Wales